Translation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets into domestic legislation is a vital step towards ensuring their delivery. This event will explore experiences of countries that have already begun this this translation, in order to turn global goals to national law.

Across the UK, governments have taken progressive steps towards setting environment targets into law, bringing much-needed legal backing to the UK's global commitments under the CBD. This event will explore the steps that have been taken in England, Scotland and Wales to establish legally binding targets frameworks, each at different stages of maturity, explore the lessons learned, and ask what's needed next. It will involve experts from UK governments, parliamentarians, and civil society, who will provide valuable insights for other countries looking to ground the KMGBF targets in legislation to drive action. The event will be of direct relevance to the COP17 item on ‘engagement with subnational governments, cities and other local authorities to enhance the implementation of the KMGBF’.

The event will include:

• An exploration of the case for setting nature targets into law, exploring voluntary vs. legally binding action, and how legislative approaches can make meeting nature targets a ‘whole-of-government’ responsibility.
• An opportunity to see how this works in practice, through delving into examples from England, Wales and Scotland. The environmental target legislation in these countries are each at different stages, with the statutory targets including themes such as: reducing the risk of the extinction of native species; the effective management of ecosystems; reducing pollution; and the quality of evidence to inform decisions relating to biodiversity, access to that evidence and its use and application. 
• A discussion on the other elements needed to enable delivery of targets frameworks, such as holistic and inclusive delivery plans, effective monitoring, and independent reviews, with insights from parliamentarians who are actively playing a role in scrutinising target delivery.
• A discussion about what’s needed next to drive meaningful action.

Through these examples and discussions, we aim to inspire action to help countries to turn global promises into domestic delivery. With just a few years to go until the end of the decade, it is more important than ever to learn about how to stay accountable, in order to truly meet our collective mission to put nature on a path to recovery.